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'Teen Mom' Farrah Abraham Is a Bad Influence on Teens

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by Corrina Jean on June 25, 2012

Corrina Jean

About the Author

Corrina Jean is the mother of three-year-old Ledger, a rambunctious boy. When she isn't busy chasing after her son, she enjoys antiquing, writing, and catching up on all things Hollywood. A recent grauate of Liberty University, she has been freelance writing for four years with her work appearing on Examiner.com and Gather.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

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The shows 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom have long been ridiculed for glamorizing teen pregnancy. However, MTV has been adamant that its shows help to reduce the amount of teenagers becoming young parents. While that may be true, the girls who appear on the show have achieved a certain amount of stardom, even if the network isn't aiming for that, and that celebrity spotlight alone helps to make teen parenthood seem glamorous.

Farrah Abraham appears on the original Teen Mom and has used her "fame" to make quite a career. Not only is she marketing her own pasta sauce, but is also a "celebrity host" for a dating site. Of course, those are things that not many teen moms (or regular moms) will ever get to experience and, had Farrah not had a child at such a young age and appeared on the hit show, it's unlikely she would have ever entered into these ventures so effortlessly.

Now, though, it is being reported that the Teen Mom is "hooked" on her celebrity status and wants to take her fame higher. According to Starcasm, a source recently said: "Farrah loves being a celebrity and everything about it: the attention, the fans, the traveling, the photo shoots, the red carpet treatment...she really wants to keep it going."

Aren't those exactly the things that MTV argues the show doesn't promote? Obviously, not all of the girls from the show are hoping to pursue a life-long career in the entertainment business, and even if Abraham doesn't make her big dreams come true after the show (which is slated to end after this season), the damage could already be done.

In the early seasons, the show did indeed do a good job at showing girls how hard having a baby at such a young age was. I remember being a 19-year old when the show came out, and I can honestly say that it both scared and prepared me for motherhood. I knew that when the day came that I became a mother (three years later), I would no longer have as much time for myself. I knew that college would be harder, but through hard work, I was able to get it done. I never once thought that I would become a celebrity or that life would be any easier.

Unfortunately, this was four years ago, before social networking turned into the monster that it has today — just one thing that has helped to catapult Abraham (and the other Teen Moms) to stardom. Most people will watch the show, knowing that the situations are rare and that not every teenager who becomes a parent will instantly be a star. However, there are a lot of more impressionable teens who watch the show and may get the wrong idea — especially if Abraham gets her wish and becomes an A-list celeb.

Do you think 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom glamorize teen pregnancy? Tell us in the comments section below!

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